News Release
For Immediate Release: 1.31.25
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4453
Federal Court Asked to Uphold Lower Court Decision that Found the City of Asheville’s Amplification Ban Unconstitutional
The ban imposed by the city only places restrictions on disfavored speech.
Richmond, VA—Attorneys for First Liberty Institute today in oral argument urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to uphold the lower court’s decision that affirmed Zachary Hebb’s Constitutional right to offer alternatives to women seeking an abortion while using amplification to project his voice.
“The First Amendment fully protects Zachary Hebb’s right to share his views about abortion to anyone visiting the Asheville Health Clinic,” said Nate Kellum, Senior Counsel for First Liberty Institute. “The city’s only apparent motivation for the amplification ban is to silence pro-life views outside the abortion clinic.”
Zachary Hebb believes that abortion is the wrongful killing of human life and his religious beliefs compel him to share with others, especially individuals visiting the Asheville Health Center (AHC). He offers tangible aid for keeping babies, informs listeners about adoption, and shares his Christian faith using an amplifier speaking in a conversational tone at a volume level appropriate for the area. The city of Asheville imposed a 150-foot amplification ban around medical clinics, effectively eliminating speech around any Planned Parenthood facility. The district court granted Hebb’s motion for summary judgment which allowed him to continue to share his alternative message. The city of Asheville appealed that decision.
In a brief to the court, attorneys argued that, “Asheville has no genuine interest in barring protected speech like Hebb’s, as demonstrated by its selective enforcement of the ban. Though the City props up an interest in curbing excessive noise, it only regulates pro-life speech on public property, not oppositional speech coming from nearby private property, revealing it is only interested in censoring a certain perspective.”
###
About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4453.
 |
|
|
